Scan barcode
nylee's review
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
sionna's review against another edition
3.0
The story itself is quite simple. This book is more romance and less mystery with the main characters not actually needing or trying to solve a mystery until the last bit of the book, but the mystery elements still surround the characters affecting their actions. Therefore this is a book more for a romance reader and not a serious mystery reader. There are silly moments which the reader will either laugh or roll their eyes at. I feel like the romance was not built at a good pace and almost seemed awkward.
The characters stayed pretty stagnant with only enough change to get them together, but even that seemed iffy to me, since I do not believe everything was addressed. The children did not act their age, either seeming too old or way young. Also, the stereotypes were quite horrible. Given that this was written in the 80s I am a bit forgiving about this.
Those who listen to Janet Evanovich will be familiar with the narrator, Lorelei King, who narrates most of Evanovich’s work. All her books sound the same to me at the point with the main characters in every book having the same voice. So, if someone has never listened to Lorelei King, this may not bother them and the different voices may be entertaining to them. I thought some characters (within this novel) sounded very similar which could get weird, mainly Billie’s tween daughter and Deedee. That huge age difference does not come across in the voices. Other than that, I think Lorelei King speaks clearly and at a good speed.
One point I very much disliked about the audiobook was that music was put into it. Occasionally towards the end of a chapter leading into the beginning of the next chapter there would be music — supposedly to help the ambiance, for example there is eerie, mysterious music at a moment when an intruder or the mystery aspect is brought up, again at the end of the chapter. This does not happen at every chapter transition either. The music was loud and, I felt, obtrusive, pulling me out of the story.
The characters stayed pretty stagnant with only enough change to get them together, but even that seemed iffy to me, since I do not believe everything was addressed. The children did not act their age, either seeming too old or way young. Also, the stereotypes were quite horrible. Given that this was written in the 80s I am a bit forgiving about this.
Those who listen to Janet Evanovich will be familiar with the narrator, Lorelei King, who narrates most of Evanovich’s work. All her books sound the same to me at the point with the main characters in every book having the same voice. So, if someone has never listened to Lorelei King, this may not bother them and the different voices may be entertaining to them. I thought some characters (within this novel) sounded very similar which could get weird, mainly Billie’s tween daughter and Deedee. That huge age difference does not come across in the voices. Other than that, I think Lorelei King speaks clearly and at a good speed.
One point I very much disliked about the audiobook was that music was put into it. Occasionally towards the end of a chapter leading into the beginning of the next chapter there would be music — supposedly to help the ambiance, for example there is eerie, mysterious music at a moment when an intruder or the mystery aspect is brought up, again at the end of the chapter. This does not happen at every chapter transition either. The music was loud and, I felt, obtrusive, pulling me out of the story.
tricky's review against another edition
1.0
So six grade teacher Billie Pearce decides to take horse polo lessons and ends up falling for the millionaire instructor Nick Kaharchek.
Okay you don't expect much that is why you read, its light, its fluffy, it give a nice feeling and hopefully a few laughs along the way. What I got was an endless banter of I love him/her, I don't love him/her, my life is a mess, my life is wonderful, why do all these bad things happen to me, why do all these good things happen to me and on and on it went. At one stage I wanted to rip the cd out the car and propel it across the highway if I had to listen to any more of Billie's continual self doubt. It was so draining.
The audio was great quality and the characterizations were spot on. That was the highlight for me with Full House.
This book was not for me.
Okay you don't expect much that is why you read, its light, its fluffy, it give a nice feeling and hopefully a few laughs along the way. What I got was an endless banter of I love him/her, I don't love him/her, my life is a mess, my life is wonderful, why do all these bad things happen to me, why do all these good things happen to me and on and on it went. At one stage I wanted to rip the cd out the car and propel it across the highway if I had to listen to any more of Billie's continual self doubt. It was so draining.
The audio was great quality and the characterizations were spot on. That was the highlight for me with Full House.
This book was not for me.
lyndsay_reads_a_lot's review
3.0
I read this for the first time several years ago.
Pros: it's a light hearted easy read with predictable formula for funny moments and tense moments between the protagonists who end up together.
Cons. Too predictable. Not in the...of course the end up together way either. The annoying mis communication and having false assumptions be the stumbling block. Also suspends reality when a woman agrees to marry a man she has known for less than a week when she has kids and neither admits they actually love each other until night before the wedding.
Would recommend if you like janet evanovich, want a light hearted rom com of a book filled with strange characters that wouldn't work In any other setting. Sometimes, that the exact type of book I'm looking for. Lorelai king is an excellent voice actress bring characters to life.
Pros: it's a light hearted easy read with predictable formula for funny moments and tense moments between the protagonists who end up together.
Cons. Too predictable. Not in the...of course the end up together way either. The annoying mis communication and having false assumptions be the stumbling block. Also suspends reality when a woman agrees to marry a man she has known for less than a week when she has kids and neither admits they actually love each other until night before the wedding.
Would recommend if you like janet evanovich, want a light hearted rom com of a book filled with strange characters that wouldn't work In any other setting. Sometimes, that the exact type of book I'm looking for. Lorelai king is an excellent voice actress bring characters to life.
ohsoyhappy's review against another edition
1.0
This book was a solid 2 star until around the wedding day. Then I had to just knock it down to a 1 star. These characters did not stand out to me and they were not good characters. Nick is the basic cookie cutter rich guy that falls for a plain Jane off the bat because she's oh so different from other women he's dated. Billie is supposed to be a strong independent woman, but once Nick enters the picture everything about that seemed to have gone out the door. Sure, there is a bit of a mystery in this novel, but it felt lacking. Something would happen, but then you dive back into the blah romance that's bubbling between Nick and Billie, something else happens, more so-called romance building, and then bam. Wacky event happening and more cringe-worthy/creep factor "twist" that made me knock off another star from this series. It was not satisfying, entertaining, and was just something for me to listen to and from work.
beaconhillbooks's review against another edition
3.0
quick light read that was fluffy but a few chuckles.
bookwifereviews's review against another edition
2.0
This is a great example of why I don’t read a lot of contemporary romances. I want to like it but the romance is ridiculous. They got married after 2 weeks and that’s nuts. They know nothing about each other. I mean literally nothing. She goes to a pollo lesson and he's the teacher. Blah blah you know the drill. But he is a womanizer and he uses the same moves he does on every single woman. I would not be able to trust anything he did or said. The one good thing I will say about him is that he was fantastic with her kids. That was actually kind of adorable. I was just about to DNF this one when the kids became part of the story and I liked that.
I read more fantasy because If a romance is bad in a fantasy book there is usually so much other stuff going on that I can ignore it. But this book it’s straight romance and I hated it. I will probably read the next book because Max was awesome and I am also on a mission to read all of Janet Evanovich's books.
I read more fantasy because If a romance is bad in a fantasy book there is usually so much other stuff going on that I can ignore it. But this book it’s straight romance and I hated it. I will probably read the next book because Max was awesome and I am also on a mission to read all of Janet Evanovich's books.
mlawl's review against another edition
2.0
Well this was a mindless cliche chick lit but entertaining nonetheless.
ksbrennan's review against another edition
Do you ever return to a book you loved after many years and find it's lost that spark that made it special for you? Anyway, this one's going in the donation pile - hopefully, someone new will find it and fall in love.
4nnalouise's review against another edition
1.0
I have no idea how this is the same author as the Stephanie Plum series. From strong female characters to a character who keeps insisting she is sensible and responsible and FALLS IN LOVE with somebody in 2 weeks? I don't think I can even finish this book it's so utterly ridiculous